Daily Notes: Arizona Fall League Begins, Brings Joy

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.

1. Assorted Headlines
2. Video: Colorado Shortstop Prospect Trevor Story
3. Today’s Playoff Schedule

Assorted Headlines
Arizona Fall League Begins Today
The Arizona Fall League — featuring many of baseball’s top prospects and giving us daily games at regular times, which certain, unnamed and anxiety-prone authors prefer — begins this afternoon. Among today’s notable starters: Seattle left-hander James Paxton (for Peoria) and Jarred Cosart (for Mesa), whom Houston received in the Hunter Pence trade with Philadelphia. Here’s where John Sickels ranks Cosart on the list noted below: 30th among pitching prospects. And here’s where he ranks Paxton: 25th.

Very Preliminary Top-50 Prospect Lists, Courtesy John Sickels
John Sickels of Minor League Ball has submitted (somewhat begrudgingly, by his own admission) a pair of impossibly early 2013 top-50 lists for hitters and also for pitchers. (Click the heading for hitters, here for pitchers.) Here’s the first hitter about whom the present author needed further information: Colorado shortstop prospect Trevor Story at No. 14. And, at No. 13 among pitchers: Toronto right-hander Aaron Sanchez. The former (Story) was an above-average hitter as a 19-year-old in the Class A Sally League this year, where our Mike Newman saw him in May, turns out. The latter (Sanchez) played as a 20-year-old in the Class A Midwest League. Newman projected both his fastball and curve as future plus offerings, in a piece from late May.

Long Island Ducks Win Atlantic League
The Long Island Ducks defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers 5-4 on Sunday to win the independent Atlantic League title. Here are some players one might recognize from the box score of the fifth and deciding game: Lancaster first baseman Tommy Everidge (formerly of the Oakland system); left-hander John Halama, formerly of many, many MLB teams and currently also of Lancaster; and former Cubs and Orioles prospect, Long Island’s first baseman Brandon Sing.

Video: Colorado Shortstop Prospect Trevor Story
Here’s video, courtesy our Mike Newman, of Colorado shortstop prospect Trevor Story (mentioned above) from May:

Today’s Playoff Schedule
NLDS, Game Three | San Francisco at Cincinnati | 17:30 ET on TBS
SF: Ryan Vogelsong (189.2 IP, 106 xFIP-, 2.6 WAR)
CIN: Homer Bailey (208.0 IP, 101 xFIP-, 2.8 WAR)

ALDS, Game Three | Detroit at Oakland | 21:00 ET on TBS
DET: Anibal Sanchez (195.2 IP, 90 xFIP-, 3.8 WAR)
OAK: Brett Anderson (35.0 IP, 74 xFIP-, 1.0 WAR)